protest

The Earth is the only world known so far to harbor life. There is nowhere else, at least in the near future, to which our species could migrate. Visit, yes. Settle, not yet. Like it or not, for the moment the Earth is where we make our stand. ? Carl Sagan, Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space

This Earth Day, April 22, 2017, scientists, those who support their work, and those concerned about our current government’s disastrous environmental policies will gather in cities and towns worldwide in a march to bring awareness to the state of our planet and what we’re doing to it. I, along with thousands of others, will be marching in downtown Chicago (and doing some sketching).

Here’s the March for Science mission statement as presented on their webpage:

The March for Science champions robustly funded and publicly communicated science as a pillar of human freedom and prosperity. We unite as a diverse, nonpartisan group to call for science that upholds the common good and for political leaders and policy makers to enact evidence based policies in the public interest.

Hope everyone I know will be there and/or lend their support in body or spirit.

So the 2012 NATO Summit is history, and the city of Chicago is still standing, despite the predictions by some of pademonium in the streets. Whether due to the extraordinary precautions of the police force or a case of overhyped hysteria, things have returned to normal, much to the dismay of the cable news networks. On a whole, the day passed with only minor skirmishes with police. During the early hours, the biggest battle was with the heat.
I was on hand for Friday’s National Nurses United rally at Daley Plaza and Sunday’s protest rally at Grant Park though I left before the march to McCormick place. The Grant Park crowd tried to keep cool as a steady stream of speakers read short prepared remarks aimed at NATO and human rights.
As expected, there were good opportunities to sketch the faces in the crowd and on stage. I added color to some of the images later, which was especially needed in the case of the “generalissimo” in the hot pink uniform.

A couple of weeks ago, I started research for a poster commemorating the 125th anniversary of the Haymarket incident in Chicago in which eight policemen were killed (mostly by friendly fire) and dozens of protesters were killed or injured. Though I’m a lifelong resident of the area, I was a little ashamed at how little I knew about this violent and pivotal event in the history of workers’ rights. When the poster is completed, I’ll post it along with some background on the events of that time.

In the meantime, the images coming out of Egypt capture the anger of the Egyptians in their struggle for freedom. Today, at what is called the “Day of Departure” rally, thousands of citizens are protesting peacefully while just blocks away, violent confrontations continue. Hopefully the situation will find a peaceful resolution soon.

Here are a few quick sketches inspired by some of the recent images out of Cairo: